Solid fuel burning water heater



April 26, 1949. T. w. TORR SOLID FUEL BURNING WATER HEATER Filed Feb, 28, 1944 A INVENTOR, 'ZfiQ/M W Torr Patented Apr. 26, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOLID FUEL BURNING WATER HEATER Thomas W. Torr, Dowagiac, Mich., assignor to The Rudy Furnace Company, Dowagiac, Mich.

Application February 28, 1944, Serial No. 524,154

3 Claims. (01. 126-344) tween them and provided with flanges 5 at each edge. These flanges are welded'throughout to the wall members. This provides an annular reservoir-6 extending from top to bottom and the inner wall member constitutes a combustion chamber providing a combustion chamber as well as 5 ber 1. the inner wall of the water reservoir whereby an The combustion chamber 1 is provided with a. effective transmission of heat results and excesto member 8, the edges 9 of which are welded sive heating or overheating is prevented. to the inner wall member. This top member is Third, to provide a structure in which the joints provided with a fuel door opening I!) and a fire are mainly welded joints with the parts so ar- 10 door or closure H therefor, the opening being ranged that the heating contraction and expansurrounded by a downwardly oifset flange l2 consion stresses are such as to place no undue strain stituting a seat for the door H. The top memon the joints. her is also provided with a flanged flue opening Fourth, to provide a water heater in which free 13 receiving the flue l4. movement of the water is provided, minimizing 15 The water supply pipe 15 is connected to the the tendency to collect lime and the like. bottom of the water reservoir at one side, while Fifth, to provide a structure having these adthe discharge 16 is connected to the opposite side vantages which is economical in material, light at the top of the reservoir. This insures a free in Weight and at the same time strong and du'rcirculation of the water around the combustion able. 20 chamber. The water reservoir is of uniform width Further objects pertaining to details and econ throughout. omies of the invention will definitely appear from The portion I! of the outer wall member which the description to follow. The invention is deprojects below the inner wall member has a front fined in the claims. portion of section thereof cut away to receive the A structure which embodies the features of the ashpit front wall member I8. The rear edges of invention is clearly illustrated in the accompany this front wall member are welded to the edges ing drawing, in which: of the outer wall member at I8 while the top Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front view of a water portions 2-0 of this ashpit front wall member are heater embodying the invention, partially in vershaped to fit the outer wall member at 21 and tical section on line II of Fig. 2. arewe'l-ded thereto. The ashpit door 22 is pivoted Fig. 2is'afragmentary side elevation with parts at 23 on this member 18 and is provided with a broken away further illustrating the structural draft damper 2!. details. The grate, made up of two sections 25, is sup- Fig. 3 is a view partially in section on a line '35 ported at the rear by means of the bar 25 in supcorresponding to line 3-3 of Fig. 1. porting relation to the lower annular member I Fig. 4 is'aside perspective view of the closure for 4 as shown in Fig. 2, and welded at 2'! to the inthe grate opening facilitating the positioning and vtier side of the outer wall, the grate sections being removal of the grate. provided with rear journals 28. The front ends Fig. 5 is a detail section on line 5-5 of Fig. 2. of the grate sections are supported by journals The embodiment of the invention illustrated 29 and 30 which engage the bar 3! carried'by the comprises the outer wall member l and the inner closure 32ft)! the opening '33 provided to facilitate wall member 2 disposed concentrically. These the introduction and removal of the grate sec- Wall members are formed of steel, either sheet tions. This closure 32 is detachably secured by steel rolled into tubular form or from seamless means of the bolts 3E. The journal 301's extended steel tubes. The outer wall member projects subto receive a shaker handle. An ashpan is indistantially below the inner wall member for purcated at 35. No bottom is illustrated in the drawposes which will appear. These wall members ing, and when mounted on a cement foundation are fixedly secured together by means of the top no bottom is needed. An ashpit bottom may be and bottom annular members 3 and 4 disposed beprovided if desired.

While the combustion chamber wall is thin and permits effective radiation or transfer of heat to the water in the reservoir, it is protected by this efiective radiation from becoming overheated. The welded joints for the reservoir are not subjected to severe stresses due to expansion and contraction but as a matter of fact there is some pressure exerted from the inside shell or wall outwardly and from the outside shell inwardly on the top and bottom rings. This is due to the fact that the inner shell 2 expands outwardly more than the outer shell I, because the inner shell gets hotter than the outer shell.

The structure is highly eificient in heating capacity and is light in weight, a relatively small 1 amount of material being required. The inlet and outlet openings being on opposite sides re-' sults in a cross flow in water movement which eliminates substantially all bubbling or gurgling noises. The capacity of the heater may be increased by increasing the diameter of the outer shell or wall relative to the inner wall or shell, and this results in slowing up the flow of water in the annular space between the inner and outer The heater is particularly desirable for shells. use in connection with a storage tank which, however, is not illustrated.

The feed door at the top of the heater may be used to check the draft, that is, by leaving it slightly open. This does not result in the escape of the products of combustion through the opening as the opening being relatively slight, outside air is drawn therethrough directly into the flue. If desired the top can be of the dome water jacket type, but it is not deemed necessary to illustrate such a structure.

The heater is very economical to produce, both in the matter of materials and labor. At the same time it is highly eficient.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a water heater, thecombination of outer and inner concentrically disposed tubular steel wall members, the outer wall member having a bottom portion extending below the bottom of the f inner wall member to provide an ashpit wall, a segmental front portion of said outer wall member being cut away, an annular reservoir including said outer and inner tubular wall members and including an annular member connected to member and above the top of said outwardly projecting ashpit front wall member, a grate supporting bar for the rear end of said grate disposed in supporting relationto said annular member of said water reservoir, and welded at its ends to the inner side of said outer wall member, said outer wall member having an opening in the front of the ashpit portion thereof and disposed below said annular member and above the outwardly projecting portion of said ashpit front wall member through which the grate may be introduced or removed, and a, detachable closure for said opening provided with a supporting bar for the front end of the grate.

2. In a water heater, the combination of outer and inner concentrically disposed tubular steel wall members, the outer wall member having a segmental ashpit wall portion extending below the bottom of the inner wall member, an annular reservoir including said outer and inner tubular wall members and including an annular member connected to the lower end of the inner tubular wall member and welded to the outer tubular wall member, the inner wall member constituting a combustion chamber wall, an ashpit front wall member spaced a substantial distance below said annular member and projecting outwardly beyond the outer tubular wall member and having its rear and top edges welded to the edges of the ashpit wall portion of said outer wall member, a door to said ashpit front wall member, a grate disposed in a plane below said annular member and above the outwardly projecting ashpit front wall member, and supports for said grate mounted within said outer wall member, said outer wall member being provided with an opening disposed-between said annular member and said ashpit wall front portion through which said grate may be introduced or removed.

3. In a water heater, the combination of laterally spaced outer and inner concentrically disposed tubular steel wall members, the outer wall member having a base portion extending below the bottom of the inner wall member, annular top and bottom members connected to said inner wall member and to said outer wall member for holding the same in spaced relation to provide an annular water reservoir, the inner wall member constituting a combustion chamber wall, a grate disposed in the outer tubular wall member and disposed below the level of the lower end of the inner tubular wall member, said outer tubular wall member having an opening therein below the level of the lower end of the inner tubular wall member through which the grate may be introduced or removed, a detachable closure for said opening, means for supporting said grate, said means including said detachable closure.

THOMAS W. TORR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 525,191 Dobbins Aug. 28, 1894 665,658 Jankus Jan. 8, 1901 684,666 Barber Oct. 15, 1901 805,804 Lewis Nov. 28, 1905 1,007,099 Harr Oct. 31, 1911 1,416,487 Mauck May 16, 1922 1,452,584 Abel Apr. 24, 1923 1,579,166 Tortorich et al Mar. 30, 1926 1,677,630 Haas et a1 July 17, 1928 1,724,505 Murray et a1 Aug. 13, 1929 2,151,516 Johnson Mar. 21, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 4,537 Great Britain 1883 

